Ten Participants Revealed for Jose Solís' BIPOC Critics Lab

The Old Globe and The Public Theater revealed the 10 participants selected for cultural critic Jose Solís' BIPOC Critics Lab during the theatres' 2026-2027 seasons. This season marks the program's first-ever bi-coastal expansion, with five writers forming the newly established West Coast cohort, joining forces with their East Coast counterparts to diversify and reshape the landscape of arts journalism.

Following three highly successful years at The Public Theater in New York, this cross-country partnership with The Old Globe scales the program into a coast-to-coast movement. The joint cohort creates a vital educational space for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) writers, jumpstarting careers in arts journalism and cultural criticism.

The five selected West Coast cohort members include content strategist Katana Dumont; UC San Diego playwright and dramaturg Juliette Lin; published short story writer and journalist Kasper Owen; Emmy Award-winning journalist and producer Lucía Serrano; and playwright and actor Katelin Shum. This multitalented group brings widespread experience in regional theatre administration, bilingual reporting, public relations, and cultural commentary to the incoming class.

Representing the East Coast, the newly selected members are Palestinian writer, poet, and ex-scientist Dina AbdulHadi; veteran educator, author, and actor Pamela Fordham; writer and death doula nancy jie huang <黄洁>; SoCiviC Theatre founder and community-engaged theatre maker Geboli Long; and MacDowell Fellow, performer, and cultural critic LOUR. These incoming participants infuse the lab with a deeply distinct background in public cemetery design, multi-genre musical composition, educational theater, and award-winning literary publication.

The highly accomplished 2026-2027 BIPOC Critics Lab cohort brings an extraordinary depth of expertise in literary psychoanalysis, multilingual ethnodrama, environmental and geopolitical justice, community-engaged education, and multi-genre musical composition to the collective.

Alumni from past cohorts of the BIPOC Critics Lab have achieved significant success, holding freelance posts and editorial positions at notable outlets including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, TDF Stages, American Theatre, 3Views, The Hat, The Brooklyn Rail, Elle, and more.

Sessions for the Lab span the course of the 2026-2027 season. Primary instruction takes place virtually, punctuated by in-person opportunities at both The Old Globe in San Diego and The Public Theater in New York City.

This shared initiative directly aligns with both institutions' deep-seated civic missions. Hosting the Lab furthers the goals outlined in The Public's Cultural Transformation Plan, which acknowledges historical exclusions within arts journalism. Simultaneously, the program integrates seamlessly into The Old Globe's Social Justice Roadmap and its core commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, and access. Together, these aligned values underscore a shared investment in expanding who gets to shape critical discourse and ensuring a more inclusive American theatre.

ABOUT THE BIPOC CRITICS LAB EAST COAST COHORT MEMBERS

Dina Abdulhadi

DINA ABDULHADI is a Palestinian writer and ex-scientist from the US South. She writes about the climate crisis and her dreams for a liberated Palestine. A 2024-2025 Emerge-Surface-Be Fellow at The Poetry Project, her work has been published by Room, Reckoning, Breakwater Review, The Worcester Review, Brooklyn Poets, Mizna, and Haymarket Books.

Pamela Fordham

PAMELA FORDHAM is an educator and writer in Western New York. Before retiring, she taught English/Language Arts, as well as theatre and public speaking classes. Pam also created and taught a Race in America elective. Her most recent publication is Who Will Tell My Story? Finding Hope for the Best (and Worst) Days of Your Life. The memoir explores the intersections of race, grief, motherhood, teaching, and hope. Pam has also worked as a substitute librarian and as an actor in several professional theater productions. She is committed to developing her ability to tell hope-filled, powerful stories. Follow Pam on Instagram @pamfordham or visit www.pamelafordham.com

nancy jie huang <黄洁>

nancy jie huang <黄洁> is a writer and death doula. She is obsessed with literary psychoanalysis, fine art in the digital age, and public cemetery design. She has received fellowships from VONA, Lambda Literary, Sewanee Writers Conference, and Vermont Studio Center. She has a poetry MFA from NYU and is writing a book about folklore.

Geboli Long

GEBOLI LONG (she/her) is a theatre maker, educator, and founder of SoCiviC Theatre. Originally from a Miao (Hmong) community in Southwest China, she creates community-engaged, documentary, and participatory theatre exploring identity, migration, belonging, and representation across cultures. Her recent work includes Farewell, and Erase, a multilingual ethnodrama she wrote and directed. Geboli received her M.A. in Educational Theatre from New York University, where she focused on Theatre for Social and Civic Engagement.

LOUR (Lour Yasin)

LOUR (Lour Yasin) is a New York-based Palestinian performer, composer-lyricist, writer, and cultural critic. Born in Jerusalem and raised in the West Bank, her work explores Palestinian identity, pop culture, and the politics of who gets to tell their own story, often blending Arab musical traditions with pop, punk, and hip-hop. Her works include AREA D, The Happy Sunshine Facility, Arabica, and The Flintstons, with work presented at Ars Nova, HERE Arts, The Public Theater, La MaMa, and the Lenfest Center. LOUR is a 2026 MacDowell Fellow, and her music and writing have been featured in Rolling Stone, Apple Music, SceneNoise, and on the BBC.

About the BIPOC Critics Lab West Coast Cohort Members

Katana Dumont

Katana Dumont is a San Diego-based writer and content strategist with more than seven years of professional writing experience. Her love of theatre began as a kid, when she saw a local production of West Side Story and soon started performing in community theatre. She has since built a career writing about culture, entertainment, personal finance, and public policy, and is now bringing that experience to theatre criticism. She enjoys seeing stories unfold live and being part of the conversations that follow. She is excited to join the BIPOC Critics Lab to learn more about theatre journalism and develop her voice as a critic. @katana_prime on social media.

Juliette Lin

Juliette Lin is a playwright and dramaturg attending UC San Diego. Having lived in Shanghai for a while, she has a hunger for translated and transnational theatre. @juliette_moli on Instagram.

Kasper Owen

Kasper Owen is a short story writer, journalist, and poet invested in storytelling as the interaction between individual lenses and bodies in spaces. They create to explore uncomfortable truths about the human condition. Their work has been published in New Forum, Culture OC, and Her Campus. B.A: Literary Journalism UC Irvine. mediasurgeon on Tumblr.

Lucía Serrano

Lucía Serrano is a bilingual and binational journalist, theatre producer and publicist driven by mission-focused storytelling and community engagement. A UCLA graduate with a degree in Art History, she began her journalism career as an editor at The San Diego Union-Tribune en Español, where she received a 2023 Pacific Southwest Emmy Award. With ten years of experience in nonprofit and theatrical work spanning communications, marketing, production, and journalism, Lucía has led productions presented at the Academy Museum (2025) and Carnegie Hall (2026). She currently works with inewsource's Documenters program and covers and reviews theatre in San Diego for BroadwayWorld. A proud mom, she enjoys spending time with her son and family. @oye.lucia on social media.

Katelin Shum

Katelin Shum is a playwright, actor, and arts administrator from San Diego, California. Select playwriting credits include Robber for Cheese and Turtle, which have been developed and shared locally, and BJORN AGAIN, an interactive, autobiographical play in which she also starred. Other accomplishments include: CANCELINA by Beth Hyland, Hamlet at LAMDA, and the new musical, The Lunchbox. Additionally, Katelin has worked regionally at theatres such as La Jolla Playhouse, Berkeley Rep, and the Ojai Playwrights Conference. @kkatelin.ss on Instagram.